The Gardener

Hello Everyone! Hope you had a good week, We sure did! To start off, Sister Deng and Sister Chen both passed their baptismal interviews and are ready for this next saturday the 24th!! It has been amazing to see their growth in the gospel and their faith!

This week rained sooo hard and it was honestly pretty tough contacting because of it, so we ended up tracting a lot! The Brother Huang that I told the story about last week is still progressing a ton! We shared the word of wisdom this week and he has been working hard to follow it, and the best thing ever is that he brought his wife and two kids to a ward activity this week!! He is really trying to be a great example to his family of how this gospel changes people for the better!

This week I studied a talk given by an apostle named Hugh B. Brown along time ago about a currant bush. He tells the story of when he was younger he lived on a farm in Canada, One day out in the garden he pruned a big currant bush that had been growing a lot but out of control. As he did so, he said he felt as if the currant bush was talking to him. "why would you do this to me? I was making such great growth and you cut me down!" He said in his my he responded "Look little currant bush, I know what i want you to be, i am the gardener here and I know what is best for you." He later tells of a challenge he went through where he was denied of a high ranking in the Canadian army, at first he was crushed and was very angry that this would happen to him. But then the spirit reminded him of the words he spoke before, "I am the Gardener here, I know what I want you to be." Elder Hugh B. Brown's story gives me courage and faith to know that everything in life happens for a reason. At first you may not understand the challenges and "pruning" so to speak, the Heavenly Father gives you. But He really is the gardener here, he knows what is best for each of us and has created a perfect plan to help us become who we are supposed to become.

Elder D. Todd Christopherson told this same story a couple years ago in General Conference and invited us to "Pray for his loved inspired corrections." I know that God loves us and he wants what is best for us! As we seek his help, guidance, and pruning, we can become the people he wants us to be. I love this gospel and the opportunity it gives me to develop a relationship with my Savior, Jesus Christ. I know the corrections from the Lord we receive are not always easy, but they are for our benefit and growth.

I love you all!! Have a great week!!

Elder Henderson